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The believer has a calling to walk worthily that is rooted in the provisions of God, not in human resources and effort. The grand and glorious Gospel message is that the believer is chosen, predestined, adopted, accepted “in Christ the Beloved” and redeemed/forgiven, and this chosen and redeemed person is participating in the grand mystery of all things in heaven and earth being gathered together in Christ coming into the fullness of its created, intended purpose (1:1-23).
We walk worthily when we walk in unity and love in the church. Unity and love require humility, meekness, patience, forbearing with one another in love, living together in the oneness and power of the Holy Spirit, exercising gifts of the Spirit, speaking truth in love.
We walk worthily when we walk in holiness (4:17-5:21). The old man is the old way of living and behaving. The new man is the new behavior produced by the mind renewed by the Spirit. The new man does not grieve the Holy Spirit, walks in the light, and is filled with the Spirit.
Summary: Change from old man behavior to new man behavior requires vision, intention, and means.
Vision: This means that I develop an internal vision of what my life could be if I was indeed different. This is a vision of who I could be if I was consumed by and fully engaged in a Kingdom of God life. This is the vision that I was created to be fully alive with the life of Christ, fully free to be fully alive and engaged in life-giving activities.
Intention: To intend is to decide. You cannot change if you do not decide to change. The intention to change has to be greater than the intention to stay the same. And if we intend to, we decide to. This is not about what we will or should do; this is about what we decide to do.
Means: The means is the actions that provide a framework for the new habits to grow.